Support services at Spanish and U.S. institutions: A driver for international student satisfaction

Many institutions of higher education are promoting campus internationalization as a core principle through international student mobility and, as a result, have expanded rapidly in enrollment. To effectively serve this growing population, many campuses have had to strengthen their student support services. However, while many have welldeveloped programs for students in general, not all services are designed to specifically cover the needs of international students. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview on research conducted on the topic of international student satisfaction with university support services as a means to ensure a positive student experience. It also provides a new research approach for comparing how support services for international students are structured at Spanish and U.S. institutions

THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENT EXPERIENCE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF STUDENT SATISFACTION ACROSS INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA, THE UK, AND THE US

Negli ultimi dieci anni, il numero di studenti internazionali è aumentato drasticamente presso istituzioni universitarie di tutto il mondo. Questo aumento della presenza di studenti internazionali nei campus universitari ha portato nuove responsabilità e sfide nel fornire servizi di supporto efficaci per la comunità internazionale. Mentre molte istituzioni hanno sviluppato programmi curriculari ed extra-curriculari per supportare gli studenti in modo generico, non tutti i servizi vengono pianificati per soddisfare specificamente le esigenze degli studenti internazionali. Questa tesi valuta il grado in cui gli studenti internazionali sono soddisfatti con i servizi di supporto ed altri aspetti della loro esperienza universitaria, in particolare nel loro arrivo, nell’apprendimento e negli ambienti di vita. Contemporanemente, la tesi produce una ricerca sulla relazione tra le aspettative degli studenti e i consigli e raccomandazioni delle loro università. Utilizzando i dati dell’ International Student Barometer di i-graduate, i metodi di ricerca valutativa e quantitativa hanno esaminato l'esperienza di oltre 45.000 studenti universitari internazionali in 96 diverse università e istituzioni in Australia, nel Regno Unito (UK) e negli Stati Uniti (USA). I risultati di numerose analisi statistiche hanno dimostrato che tutti i quattro parametri della soddisfazione sono stati positivamente associati all'esperienza universitaria complessiva degli studenti e ai consigli della loro attuale università. Ulteriori analisi hanno confermato quali variabili di soddisfazione sono risultate negli aspetti più significativi dell'esperienza universitaria di studenti internazionali e quali variabili hanno influenzato maggiormente i consigli universitari. Questo studio empirico fornisce considerazioni chiave per amministratori universitari, professionisti e ricercatori su come allocare al meglio le risorse per sostenere e, allo stesso tempo, migliorare l'esperienza degli studenti internazionali, facendo in modo di sviluppare strategie di iscrizioni e mantenimento sempre più efficaci.The number of international students has increased dramatically over the last decade at institutions of higher education around the world. This added presence of international students on university campuses has evidently brought a whole new set of responsibilities and challenges for providing effective support services to that community. While many institutions have developed curricular and extracurricular programs to support students in general, not all services are designed to specifically cover the needs of international students. This study evaluates the degree to which international students are satisfied with support services as well as other aspects of their university experience, namely in their arrival, learning, and living environments, while also investigating the relationship between student satisfaction and institutional recommendation for prospective applicants. Using data from i-graduate’s International Student Barometer, quantitative survey research methods evaluated the experience of over 45,000 degree-seeking, undergraduate international students at 96 different institutions in Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US). Multiple regression analyses indicated that all four dimensions of satisfaction were positively associated with students' overall university experience and the recommendation of their current institution. Further analyses revealed which satisfaction variables were the most significant aspects of the international student experience, and which ones influenced institutional recommendation the most. This empirical study provides key considerations for university administrators, practitioners, and researchers on how resources might best be allocated to support and enhance the experience of international students, leading to more effective institutional recruitment and retention strategies

Support Services at Spanish and U.S. Institutions: A Driver for International Student Satisfaction

Many institutions of higher education are promoting campus internationalization as a core principle through international student mobility and, as a result, have expanded rapidly in enrollment. To effectively serve this growing population, many campuses have had to strengthen their student support services. However, while many have welldeveloped programs for students in general, not all services are designed to specifically cover the needs of international students. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview on research conducted on the topic of international student satisfaction with university support services as a means to ensure a positive student experience. It also provides a new research approach for comparing how support services for international students are structured at Spanish and U.S. institutions

The Differential Impact of Learning Experiences on International Student Satisfaction and Institutional Recommendation

This research uses data from i-graduate's International Student Barometer to investigate the impact of student learning experiences on institutional satisfaction and recommendation for degree-seeking international students. Analyses revealed that evaluations – i.e., how satisfied students are with their experience – are influenced by different learning experience variables from those that impact behavioral intentions – i.e., their willingness to recommend the institution. This study finds that, within the learning experience, 'teaching' variables (e.g., "quality of lectures", "expertise of faculty") mattered most for overall satisfaction, while 'study' variables that often center on later employment (e.g., "employability skills", "work experience during studies") predicted the propensity to recommend an institution. In addition, results demonstrated that what students value, in terms of their learning experience, varies significantly when student nationality and destination country are considered. Implications for international educators and researchers are discussed

THE VAPORIZATION PHENOMENA OF FUEL DROPLETS EXPOSED TO ASYMMETRIC RADIANT HEATING USING PLANAR LASER-INDUCED FLUORESCENCE

Droplet vaporization under asymmetric conditions is prevalent in many combustion related devices where fuel droplets may either experience asymmetric thermal radiant heating or travel in velocity and temperature gradients. Asymmetric radiant heating is particularly common in spray flames, counter-flow diffusion flames, regions close to the walls of conventional combustion chambers and more importantly in liquid-fueled microcombustors. In this study, experiments are carried out to observe how droplets vaporize when exposed to asymmetric radiant heating. The experimental set-up consists of applying radiant heating, through a radiant panel heater, to one face of a monodisperse droplet stream while using the planar-laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) diagnostic tool to reveal the spatial vapor distribution around vaporizing droplets. Since most fuels are made up of multiple components, bicomponent droplets are also investigated. Pure acetone droplets as well as mixtures of acetone/alkanes (octane and hexane) and acetone/alcohols (ethanol and 2-propanol) droplets are investigated. Results in the form of PLIF images, reveal asymmetric vapor distributions around the droplets with the apparent induction of Stefan flow from the irradiated droplet surface. Such phenomena have not previously been reported in the literature and have relevance to the overall fuel vaporization process as well as subsequent ignition and pollutant formation processes. To further investigate the experimental results, a convective and radiative heat transfer model is employed to simulate the droplets under corresponding experimental conditions. Results from the model show convective cooling and a strong thermal radiation absorption near the droplets’ surface. The induced asymmetric Stefan flow observed experimentally is therefore a consequence of the high thermal radiation absorption at the droplets’ surface. This study gives both experimental and theoretical results of the vaporization phenomena of asymmetrically irradiated fuel droplets with varying compositions, diameters and irradiation temperatures.Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, May 201

COVID-19 and higher education in the global context: Exploring contemporary issues and challenges

COVID-19 and Higher Education in the Global Context: Exploring Contemporary Issues and Challenges addresses the lasting impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the higher education sector and offers insights that inform policy and practice. Framed in a global context, this timely book captures a wide variety of topics, including student mobility, global partnerships and collaboration, student health and wellbeing, enrollment management, employability, and graduate education. Ravichandran Ammigan, Ph.D., is the Associate Deputy Provost for International Programs and an Assistant Professor of Education at the University of Delaware, Delaware, USA. Roy Y. Chan, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Education and the Director of the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) program in Leadership and Professional Practice in the Helen DeVos College of Education at Lee University, Tennessee, USA. Krishna Bista, Ed.D., is a Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership and Policy at Morgan State University, Maryland, USA. Ammigan, R., Chan, R. Y., & Bista, K. (eds.) (2022). COVID-19 and higher education in the global context: Exploring contemporary issues and challenges. STAR Scholars